Chapter 13 - AURELIA’S VERSION
Aurelia did not deny locking the SUV.
Video and vehicle data made denial pointless.
Her defense was context.
Elliot had been defiant.
The children were in a secure vehicle.
She was standing nearby.
The exposure was brief.
She did not intend injury.
All true except the word secure doing too much work.
Then:
“I expected him to calm down.”
Why lock?
“So he would stop getting out.”
Why not turn on air conditioning?
“I was distracted.”
The key was in her hand.
Remote start available.
Why ignore cabin warning?
“I knew I was there.”
Again.
Then the continuity plan.
She said:
“Stefano was drowning.”
I was.
“He returned to work before Clara could hold her head up.”
True.
“He forgot Elliot’s therapy appointment twice.”
Once.
The second appointment had been rescheduled.
“He let staff raise them.”
Partly unfair.
Partly uncomfortable.
Then:
“Rosalie trusted me.”
True once.
Then:
“I was trying to stop Stefano from reacting to grief by uprooting the children.”
There.
She thought the move was dangerous.
She thought the estate was stability.
She thought her own presence was part of that stability.
May you like
The problem was not that every belief was irrational.
The problem was that she had decided my consent—and Elliot’s voice—were obstacles to be managed.
